Republicans block pull-out plan

2007-07-18 23:41

Washington - Republicans in the US Senate on Wednesday blocked a Democratic measure which would have required President George W Bush to pull most combat troops out of Iraq by the end of April 2008.

After a marathon all-night debate, the Republican vote held firm, despite several party senators expressing unease over the war plan after the president rejected changes in Iraq strategy until September at the earliest.

The Senate voted by 52 to 47 to move to a final vote on the measure, well short of the 60-vote supermajority needed for the bill to proceed.

With fold-down beds at the ready in a room near the Senate, and hot coffee on tap, relays of senators had kept the debate going in a near-deserted chamber through the small hours after it started on Tuesday afternoon.

It was the latest defeat for majority Democrats who have battled for months to force Bush to accept hard troop withdrawal timetables.

Bush under fire over the unpopular war, has warned that leaving Iraq would spark chaos, and hand over the country for use as a terror haven by al-Qaeda.

The US military's losses in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion are now at 3 621, according to an AFP count based on Pentagon figures.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians are also dead.

- AFP